Western Digital Corp (NASDAQ:WDC) EVP Michael Charles Ray sold 4,387 shares of the business’s stock in a transaction dated Monday, February 5th. The stock was sold at an average price of $84.20, for a total value of $369,385.40. Following the transaction, the executive vice president now directly owns 43,323 shares of the company’s stock, valued at $3,647,796.60. The sale was disclosed in a legal filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission, which is accessible through this link.

Michael Charles Ray also recently made the following trade(s):

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On Wednesday, January 31st, Michael Charles Ray sold 35,009 shares of Western Digital stock. The stock was sold at an average price of $86.73, for a total value of $3,036,330.57.

Shares of Western Digital Corp (NASDAQ WDC) traded down $3.80 during midday trading on Monday, reaching $81.45. The company’s stock had a trading volume of 5,189,361 shares, compared to its average volume of 4,400,000. The company has a debt-to-equity ratio of 1.04, a quick ratio of 2.03 and a current ratio of 2.55. Western Digital Corp has a one year low of $71.38 and a one year high of $95.77. The stock has a market capitalization of $24,040.00, a PE ratio of 67.31, a P/E/G ratio of 0.36 and a beta of 1.13.

Western Digital (NASDAQ:WDC) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 25th. The data storage provider reported $3.95 earnings per share for the quarter, beating the Zacks’ consensus estimate of $3.51 by $0.44. Western Digital had a return on equity of 30.78% and a net margin of 1.93%. The company had revenue of $5.34 billion during the quarter, compared to analysts’ expectations of $5.31 billion. During the same quarter in the previous year, the business earned $2.30 earnings per share. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 9.2% on a year-over-year basis. equities analysts predict that Western Digital Corp will post 12.62 EPS for the current year.

Western Digital announced that its Board of Directors has authorized a share buyback plan on Thursday, November 9th that permits the company to repurchase $2.10 billion in shares. This repurchase authorization permits the data storage provider to buy shares of its stock through open market purchases. Stock repurchase plans are usually an indication that the company’s management believes its shares are undervalued.

The company also recently disclosed a quarterly dividend, which will be paid on Monday, April 16th. Shareholders of record on Friday, March 30th will be paid a $0.50 dividend. This represents a $2.00 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 2.46%. The ex-dividend date is Thursday, March 29th. Western Digital’s dividend payout ratio is currently 165.29%.

Several institutional investors have recently added to or reduced their stakes in WDC. Quantbot Technologies LP purchased a new stake in shares of Western Digital during the second quarter worth approximately $135,000. Renaissance Technologies LLC purchased a new stake in shares of Western Digital during the second quarter worth approximately $12,329,000. Macquarie Group Ltd. raised its stake in shares of Western Digital by 13.0% during the second quarter. Macquarie Group Ltd. now owns 178,755 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $15,837,000 after purchasing an additional 20,621 shares during the last quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC raised its stake in shares of Western Digital by 140.4% during the second quarter. Janus Henderson Group PLC now owns 1,994,833 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $176,746,000 after purchasing an additional 1,164,954 shares during the last quarter. Finally, Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC raised its stake in shares of Western Digital by 210.5% during the second quarter. Cubist Systematic Strategies LLC now owns 27,352 shares of the data storage provider’s stock worth $2,423,000 after purchasing an additional 18,542 shares during the last quarter. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 84.52% of the company’s stock.

A number of brokerages recently issued reports on WDC. Vetr downgraded Western Digital from a “strong-buy” rating to a “buy” rating and set a $98.49 price target for the company. in a report on Monday, October 23rd. BidaskClub raised Western Digital from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a report on Tuesday, October 17th. Mizuho reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $105.00 price target on shares of Western Digital in a report on Sunday, October 8th. Maxim Group reaffirmed a “buy” rating and issued a $124.00 price target on shares of Western Digital in a report on Friday, October 27th. Finally, Citigroup upped their price target on Western Digital from $110.00 to $115.00 and gave the company a “buy” rating in a report on Friday, October 27th. Thirteen investment analysts have rated the stock with a hold rating, twenty-two have assigned a buy rating and two have given a strong buy rating to the company. The company has a consensus rating of “Buy” and a consensus target price of $111.78.

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